The world was still reeling from Lobo showing up and taking Superman off planet. Lex looks out the window from his campaign headquarters. This wasn't part of his plan. It was hard for his campaign platform to be anti-Superman if Superman wasn't around. But Superman's absence could create new opportunities. And Lex had so many plans for the next few months. His campaign manager, Mona, enters his office.
"What do you have for me?" Lex asks.
"Your rally in Gotham did strong numbers. You're still behind the two major party candidates, but you're making up ground." Mona says.
"Anything else?" Lex asks.
"Alex Evell is fully in support of you. You will be seeing a lot of good press from GBS." Mona says.
Lex sits back and thinks. It was mid-August. He had two and a half months before election day. Even though Superman wasn't around, he could still campaign against the Justice League. But Lex had other affairs to deal with as well.
"Prepare my plane for Kaznia." Lex says.
Inside the mountain at Happy Harbor, the Justice League meet. Everyone is there today. They are discussing their next move without Superman.
"The Lanterns are searching every sector of the galaxy, but so far he hasn't turned up." Green Lantern says.
"This is insane, how could a being beat down Superman like that?" Wonder Woman asks.
"We know about Superman's strength; we don't know what else is out in the galaxy." Batman responds.
"What about other issues, like Luthor running for president. If he has his way, he'll shut us down." Flash mentions.
"Superman has always had a distrust of Lex Luthor. It is why I have my assistant looking into Luthor's past. He'll leave no stone unturned." Martian Manhunter says.
"Luthor has a checkered past, it's why Wayne Enterprise's has always refused to work with his company. But he's always managed to leave to grimier parts out of the public eye." Batman says.
"Can he really be worse than the other men that have held the office?" Wonder Woman asks.
"Yes." Batman says.
Lex arrives in Kaznia. He is greeted by King Gustav.
"Mr. Luthor, greetings." King Gustav says.
"Where is she?" Lex asks.
"This way." King Gustav says.
The king takes Lex to Kara. Lex had been hiding her in Kaznia. He assured them that he was the only one capable of controlling her. Lex had turned the chunk of red kryptonite into a necklace and ordered Kara to never take it off. While the red kryptonite was near her, Kara was suggestible to everything Lex would say.
Lex's main concern with keeping her in Kaznia was the kryptonite meteor in the ocean right off the shore. However in Lex's experiments with her, Lex had found that Kara seems to be resistant to green kryptonite. This concerned Lex as it was always his ace in the hole against Superman. It's why he always kept a ring with a kryptonite jewel in a lead lined box in his pocket.
"Kara." Lex says as he enters her room.
"Lex." Kara responds.
Her responses were always so cold and robotic under the influence of the red kryptonite.
"Are they treating you well?" Lex asks.
"I am fine." Kara says.
"And the books, are you reading them?" Lex asks.
Lex had left a stack of books for Kara. Mostly about different great leaders in history.
"I am." Kara says.
"Excellent. Stay here a little longer, soon I will let you return to America with me." Lex says.
"When?" Kara asks.
"When you are needed." Lex says.
Two weeks go by and Lex's numbers continue to climb in the polls. However he still trails the two major party candidates. Superman not being around has really hurt his campaign. He had work for years to rid the world of Superman, but now him being gone was working against Lex's efforts.
It was the beginning of September now. Lex had two months to bring his poll numbers up. He sits in his office as he contemplates his next move. He grabs his phone. This is it. With this phone, he is going to put the next phase of his plan into play. Lex makes the call.
"It's time." Lex says.
"This is Iris West-Allen reporting for GBS news. There is major panic in Gotham City tonight as a mass breakout has occurred at Arkham Asylum. The confirmed escaped inmates include: Scarecrow, Poision Ivy, Victor Zsasz, and Professor Pyg."
Iris is about to finish up her report when another note is sent her way.
"Breaking news now as another breakout has occurred. This time right here at Iron Heights prison in Central City. The prisoners that have escaped here include: Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heatwave, Golden Glider, and the Trickster. We will keep you updated on this as new information comes in. I am now being told that in response to this, Lex Luthor has called for a campaign rally tonight in Metropolis."
That evening the citizens of Metropolis gather to listen to Lex's speech.
"Citizens of the United States, look where we stand. The villains that these so-called heroes have put away are revolting. From Gotham to Central City. How long before there is a breakout at Striker's Island? We cannot go on this way. Notice how these breakouts are occurring in cities with a strong super hero presence. It's almost as if these costumed vigilantes attract these personalities to them. And who has to end up cleaning up their mess? People like you and me. I say no more." Lex proclaims at his rally.
Lois watches on. She can't help but feel it's more than a coincidence that two breakouts would happen in the same day. She needed to investigate this further.